Unexpected discoveries!

I'm going to confess to not keeping my eyes wide open ... and I'm so disappointed in myself for not paying attention to this little gem in downtown White Bear Lake! I needed to pay a visit to A C Upholstery this morning so I took the usual route ... down 4th Street to the building I knew they were in. Turns out they're in the back of the building and to get there you have to walk down this charming sidewalk with something that stops you at each twist and turn!

Lights ... and leaves ... and flowers! Nothing matching which is something I love!

And then there were the doors! What do you think goes on behind doors like this?

The building looks straight out of a European picture book! Check out the windows.

And then there were just a bunch of unusual things that caught my eye!

What do you think ... the beginnings of a White Bear Lake Stonehenge?

Terry and Ann were nice enough to let me peek around their workrooms and take some more pix.

I was waiting for Geppetto to look up from a workbench somewhere ... even though they don't cobble shoes. But I bet they could! They had so many other neat things they've made by hand!

The stories this machine could tell!

And I think we need this machine for placing all of those grommets in purses! Sure beats hammering them in place on the sidewalk.

I had a terrific tour of the building ... learned some things about it's history ... saw lots of beautiful details that have kept my head spinning for the last few hours. I love the whole feeling of finding a new secret and how I felt the second I tumbled upon it!